26 Mar 2012

At last I get around to sharing my photos from this London Fashion Week just gone by! This season, I only had one day, so to break with the usual habit of popping by Somerset House, I decided to see what the action was like at the Topshop Showspace. The venue was beautifully set by the river, across from the nearly-completed Shard. At sunset, the river bank was picturesque, and little neon and pattern-clashing fashion birds added the accent. I didn't get many terribly good photos (I was too shy on that particular day!), but I'll let what I have speak for themselves.

(I also met the lovely Alice Point. Here she is pictured in her bright neon hat in the last picture.)

11 Mar 2012

Peter Jensen is co-hosting a film screening evening, followed by an audience Q&A session, in London with fashion film website Test, on the 15th of March between 7-10pm at the Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green. The designer known for his cute and kitsch aesthetic will be following in the footsteps of Roksanda Ilincic and Richard Nicoll as he takes part in the ninth monthly film screening by Test. Every month, Test invites a guest presenter to screen a film which has been a source of inspiration. This time, Jensen has chosen the 1987 British sex comedy drama "Rita, Sue and Bob Too!", which is set in 1980s working class Yorkshire life, but is simultaneously serious and light-hearted. Jensen said, 'I don't think I have ever laughed so much in my life. It had a profound effect on my life as it was really the final decision for me to move to and live in England.'

Later on, the audience will have the opportunity to inquisitively pry into the creative brain of Jensen in a Q&A style session. One intimately pleasant evening for the bargainous price of a pint of lager and chips, I know I prefer to be with Jensen than being in a dingy pub in a dark corner somewhere. Tickets are a fiver and bookable here.

2 Mar 2012

It started with the name - l'usine - which I instantly took a liking to having written an essay in French in my second year at university all about the death of Haute Couture, which I suggested started in the 60's in the l'usines of prêt-à-porter. Of course, I didn't even believe at the time of writing that Haute Couture was dying. But the essay was meant to be phrased like a two-sided debate, and I wanted to use every opportunity I had to write outside of my discipline of biochemistry to write about my love for fashion.

Fast forward to the present day, I first came across these images of Jacquemus' L'usine some time ago on Jeanne Damas' blog (French IT-girl of the blogosphere phenomenon who models in the campaign). Since then, these images have blown up over the internet in a huge way and have done their rounds of all the blogs (Susie Bubble wrote about it a month ago). So I guess this makes me a slow snail..

It's not so much the clothes of 21-year-old Simon Porte Jacquemus that I'm enthused by, as much as the irreverent mood, the image, the lifestyle and the nonchalant young French girls with their wonderfully messy hair just so that Jacquemus is selling, which has me enraptured.

But whatever the reason behind the love of Jacquemus, clearly I am not alone. Dead Fleurette, one of my favourite bloggers who writes about classic and minimalistic dressing, shared recently a review of SMUG magazine #5. Inside there is an interview with Jacquemus, who refers to his clothes as uniform and himself as a minimalist. I'm not sure how much I would agree with that his clothes are uniform and minimalistic. Sure I see references to the 90's minimalism that has recently enjoyed popularity again with Raf Simons at Jil Sander and Phoebe Philo at Céline. But more I see 80's-90's Japanese avant-garde like Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo in the slightly oversized and un-tailored jumpers and coats.

But foremost of all, I wanted to share with you these images, the overall package of Jacquemus A/W 11 which also for me is the highlight. Being also an avid lover of photography, sometimes fashion and photography combined present the perfect concoction for me. This is the case with Jacquemus - the images are the perfect mix of bleakness and insouciance. They are going to fuel many more of my daydreams for sure.